Salami Mammi, an Italian Deli, Will Open in Beaverton

I first became aware of Salami Mammi kind of by accident; but when I realized what it was and who was involved, I knew I had to reach out to them to learn more. This is a new Italian deli from the folks behind Don’s Favorite Foods and Burger Stevens: Kate Laurents and Don Salamone, plus their business partner Adam Galbraith. And it will take over the current Don’s space, with Don’s moving elsewhere in Beaverton (location TBD).

I had a chance to speak with them about the new place, and here is what we talked about.

Don, Kate, and Adam—the Salami Mammi Team

When I started our phone call, I was familiar with Don and Kate, but less so with Adam Galbraith, who came on as a partner when Don’s Favorite Foods arrived on the scene in 2023. “I joined them in 2023 to help open Don’s Favorite Foods. I was a sommelier up in Seattle for a number of years.”

Before Don’s Famous Foods existed, Don and Kate ran Burger Stevens, which was established in 2016 and ended in 2024. It started out at the Hillsdale Food Park next to the high school; later they branched out with additional carts to multiple pods in Portland and the BG Food Cartel pod in Beaverton. They served fast food style burgers and fries—Michael Russell at The Oregonian described them as, “Shake Shack-style burgers, only prepared by a chef with Michelin-starred restaurant experience.”

Salami Mammi: What’s in a Name?

I asked Don about the origin story of Salami Mammi name, and he says that goes back to when he was growing up in Rochester, NY. (“It’s almost like a little Long Island—it’s very Italian with surprisingly good Italian American food.”) He and his brother would call their mom, “Mammi Salami.” Salami being a riff off their last name, Salamone.

“And so thinking about that over the years, it’s just a funny name,” Don remarked. “And when this came up, it seemed like the right way to go. Because especially with Don’s—every menu had something to do with my childhood, or growing up, or eating Italian American food when I was young. So it seemed appropriate to call this not ‘Mammi Salami,’ but ‘Salami Mammi.'”

What to Expect at Salami Mammi

We chatted about the food, drink, and the space at Salami Mammi.

To Eat

Hot sandwiches are the name of the game at Salami Mammi, especially parms. Think eggplant parm, chicken parm, meatball parm, etc. “Parms are the focus, but we’ll have a few other sandwiches” said Don. “The space itself kind of dictates what we can do.” One of those other sandwiches they are looking to serve is a chicken Caesar sandwich.

Sweets

I was curious to know if there are going to be any sweet things on the menu. “I plan on making some cookies,” Don said. “I got a focused, small assortment of cookies—the tricolor [aka rainbow cookie], a butter cookie with raspberry, and a pignoli, probably.”

They are considering doing a semifreddo, too.

To Drink

I asked if they’d have drinks like I’d see at delis on the east coast—espresso sodas, Yoo-Hoo, that kind of thing. “As far as beverages, we’re going to have a bunch of spritzes available,” explained Don. “A couple wines, a couple beers.”

He added, “And that [Manhattan Special] is good, but to me, I don’t know. It’s not amazing. It’s the kind of thing that’ll bring back memories for people who have transplanted over here. Yoo-hoo is good every once in a while.”

Currently they have a full liquor license with Don’s Favorite Foods, and they hope is to assume it for Salami Mammi. They are waiting to hear back from the OLCC on that. But their plan is to have a full license. “So we can do an Aperol Spritz and small cocktails like that,” Don remarked.

On the NA Side of Things

They are looking forward to having a healthy NA drink menu—mocktails, a bottled Negroni, and some NA wines, including a NA rosé, too. Good chance you’ll find a variety of fizzy drinks, too.

Salami Mammi Menu Favorites

I asked them if they had a favorite parm, and Don said he’s really excited about their sausage parm. This is a member of the parm family I haven’t seen as often as the others, but I can imagine it tasting pretty good.

“My uncle had a butcher shop growing up, and to me, he had the best Italian sausages ever,” said Don. “So through my entire life, I’ve been trying to recreate that sausage. And I think I’ve gotten close. I’m still working out how exactly that is going to be done—I’m not sure if I’m going to link it or have it be a patty. But I’m excited about that.”

The Salami Mammi Space

A returning theme in our conversation was the size of the space, and it really does dictate a lot as far as operating in there. “If you’ve ever seen it, it’s extremely small,” Don said. “The entire space is 500 square feet.” That’s less square footage than the Oregon City Market has, which is 600sf. But as we have learned from them—and from Don’s Famous Foods—you can do a lot with a little space.

He continued, “We were doing like six, seven course menus out of that kitchen with a four foot hood and one range. So we’re going to switch out a little bit of the equipment, some of the decor, the setup a little bit, and see what we could accomplish in that small space.”

I wondered it people would still be able to come in and enjoy the food sitting down, or if they were going to transition to just takeout. “Both will be available,” said Don. “We’ll have a small amount of seats.”

What They Won’t Have

I asked a bunch of questions to orient myself to what their interpretation of “Italian deli” is, since I come to this term with specific ideas of what you’d find in a deli on the east coast. I learned they will not sell any pantry goods and won’t be making fresh mozz or ricotta there.

“I think one of the reasons that we are going in this direction is that we loved doing Burger Stevens for all those years,” said Kate. “And so I think when we say ‘deli,’ we’re thinking less of a storefront, with cans of different things that you can buy, and more about different Italian sandwiches, cold cuts and some charcuterie—that type of stuff.”

On that cheesemaking detail, something that discourages them getting into that is, again, the space—they simply don’t have enough room in the kitchen. “If I were to do something like that, it would take up like a good portion of one of the two coolers that we have,” explained Don.

And a Bit on the Space at the New Don’s Favorite Foods 

So, it’s clear from earlier in this article that the space that will be Salami Mammi is very small. So small, that any of the new locations for Don’s Favorite Foods that they’ve been looking at would be considered a step up in the square footage. “We’re just so thrilled to be able to have a kitchen with space and storage and equipment!” said Don and Kate.

Kate continued, “One of the things that was both a blessing and a little bit of a curse of the first Don’s iteration, was that we couldn’t be as flexible with diners as we’d like to be. You know, we all come from deep restaurant and hospitality backgrounds. And so not being able to accommodate allergies or adjustments to a prix fixe menu is a little heartbreaking at times.”

The new space will allow for varying kinds of flexibility, and they also told me that the new Don’s will have an a la carte menu, which means more choices for guests. All things considered, they are really excited for more space so that they can support and provide what folks in the neighborhood would like. 

Big on Beaverton

Kate shared some thoughts on their work in Beaverton and how it’s been a positive experience. “From a high level perspective, this is just an awesome outcome—from the first Don’s, to getting to continue to grow in Beaverton and do more with the community that we’ve really been so grateful to be supported by,” she said.

She continued, “Don and I lived in Hillsdale for about 10 years. The first Burger Stevens was at the Hillsdale Food Park next to the high school there. And we always were so excited when any great food option popped up on the west side.

“And so we always had our eyes on Beaverton as a place that we’d love to keep supporting with more and more food options that are more similar to where you can get in Portland. I feel like it’s a pretty exciting time for southwest Portland, in general. A lot of great food operators have moved farther west.

“I keep talking about how great the community is, and truly, the support that the Beaverton community shows to small businesses is really amazing. It’s unparalleled. There are grants for new restaurants to open. There are all kinds of small businesses. The city itself is really supportive.

“But also, the first few months we were open with Don’s, every table was thanking us for choosing Beaverton, and it’s just been a really lovely experience. And Washington County has been supportive and great to work with, too.”

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They believe they are still on track for a Tuesday, July 7 opening for Salami Mammi. All the best to Kate, Don, and Adam as they get closer to opening this new Italian deli—and moving Don’s Favorite Foods—in Beaverton.

Salami Mammi [opening July 7, 2026]
12500 SW Broadway Street, Beaverton
Salami Mammi website | Instagram